Meet Unilever’s first 100% recycled plastic toothbrush

Unilever’s first toothbrush made from 100% recycled plastic has just launched in France, and it’ll be reaching further countries soon.

The new Signal Ecolo Clean toothbrush is made from 100% food-grade post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, while its smart design features a comfortable, ergonomic hollow handle with 40% less plastic than an ordinary toothbrush – saving 10 tonnes of plastic in its first year.

And at the end of its life, the toothbrush needn’t contribute to landfill or disturb fragile ocean ecosystems. It’s 100% recyclable, thanks to a consumer-return partnership with global recycling company TerraCycle®. Consumers in France can simply return their used toothbrushes to one of a number of TerraCycle collection points where they will be recycled. This launch builds on the partnership Unilever has with TerraCycle in many countries.

Ecolo Clean also comes in a paper pack, which is fully recyclable.

Zero plastic, less plastic, better plastic

With this launch, Signal has produced the first toothbrush to tick all the boxes on Unilever’s new commitment to creating a circular economy for plastic – cutting virgin plastic out of the process. And it’s a perfect fit with our agenda on plastics which has three strong pillars: no plastic (the box), less plastic (the light, smart design), and better plastic (the fully recycled plastic handle).

“At the start of 2019 we launched Signal’s first bamboo toothbrush to reduce the brand’s impact on the environment. Now, with Ecolo Clean, we’ve seized this opportunity to lead a massive sustainable change in the toothbrush category,” says Project Leader Leila Esmaeili.

“And this is just the beginning,” she adds. “Across every part of Unilever we have the objective to cut our use of virgin plastic by half and use 100% reusable, recyclable plastic by 2025. We’re working on it now.”